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Elio de Angelis
|birthplace = Rome, Italy |death date = |placeofdeath = Marseille, France |years = – |nationality = |status = Deceased (fatal accident) |firstrace = 1979 Argentine Grand Prix |firstwin = 1982 Austrian Grand Prix |lastrace = 1986 Monaco Grand Prix |lastwin = 1985 San Marino Grand Prix }} Elio de Angelis (born 26 March 1950 in Rome, Italy – died 15 May 1986 in Marseille, France) was an Italian driver who most notably drove for Lotus in Formula One. Formula One Career Pre-Formula One 1979 De Angelis made his Formula One debut at the start of the season, after being offered a contract from . He finished seventh in his first race and went on to complete the season with three points from his fourth place finish in the United States Grand Prix. 1980 De Angelis was then offered a position with Lotus for the 1980 season. At the Brazilian Grand Prix he almost became the youngest Grand Prix winner in history, finishing behind René Arnoux for a second place finish. At the end of the season, he had scored 13 points. This placed him in 7th place for the World Driver's Championship. 1981 De Angelis' contract with Lotus was renewed for the 1981 season. Midway through the season, team Lotus was purchased from Essex Petroleum, by the cigarette company, John Player. De Angelis' contract remained despite this change in ownership. 1982 (left) in the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix.]] De Angelis' first victory came during the 1982 season, in the Austrian Grand Prix. He had beat the Williams driver, Keke Rosberg by only 0.05 seconds (less than half a car length). This was the last victory that the Lotus team manager, Colin Chapman would witness. He would die later that year of a heart attack at age 54. 1983 Following the death of team manager, Colin Chapman, the position of Lotus team manager was filled by Peter Warr. In addition, the team transferred to the Renault turbo-charged engine after the first race. The season was full of various mechanical issues that forced him to retire to the garage in the majority of the races in the season. He was only able to complete 2 of 15 races that season. 1984 The 1984 season was much more successful than de Angelis' prior year. Because of his consistency throughout the season, he managed to place 3rd in the drivers championship. He was the only driver in the top 5 that was unable to score a win that season. 1985 De Angelis continued his career with Lotus for the 1985 season, with his new teammate Ayrton Senna. De Angelis claimed the second and last win of his career in the San Marino Grand Prix, after 's Alain Prost was disqualified from the race because his car was underweight. De Angelis also claimed his final pole position in the Canadian Grand Prix. He finished the season in 5th position, five points behind his teammate. De Angelis chose to leave Lotus at the end of the season because he believed the team's effort was focused on Senna. 1986 De Angelis joined Brabham to replace Nelson Piquet who had moved to the Williams team. Fellow Italian driver, Riccardo Patrese joined de Angelis as his teammate. De Angelis managed to complete the first race of the season, however he had to retire from his other three races that season because of various mechanical failures. His career would come to a sudden end after his death during a team testing session in mid May. Death While testing for his team at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, de Angelis suffered a rear wing failure at the Verriere corner of the track. As a result, the car lost downforce and cartwheeled over a track barrier. The car caught fire, and de Angelis was unable to free himself from the wreck. Rescue efforts were slow due to the low attendance of track marshals that provided emergency assistance, but de Angelis was eventually removed from the car. Thirty minutes after the accident, a helicopter arrived to airlift him to a hospital in Marseille. He arrived at the hospital with a broken collar bone, light burns and and suffering from smoke inhalation. He died 29 hours after arrival of fatal smoke inhalation and oxygen deprivation. After the death of de Angelis, the FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre announced the end of the turbo powered engine. After pressure from FISA, he also announced the removal of the full Paul Ricard Circuit from the season calendar. It would be replaced with the "Club" version of the circuit, which bypassed the section of the track in which de Angelis was killed. Helmet Design De Angelis wore a white helmet with a black and red line that came up from the bottom of the helmet, directly behind the visor. The lines then formed a corner and looped around the back of the helmet to the opposite side. His name, Elio de Angelis was written in a cursive font on the black line. John Player was printed directly above the visor. Throughout his career, a sponsor was printed onto the top of his helmet. After his death, fellow Formula One driver, Jean Alesi wore a helmet which matched that of de Angelis as a tribute. Formula One Statistical Overview Formula One Record Career Statistics Race Wins Career Results |7th| | | |16th|12th|11th| | | | | |3|15th}} | | | |10th|9th| | |16th| | | |10th| |13|7th}} | | | | | | | | |7th|7th| | | | |14|8th}} | || | | | | | | | | | | | |23|9th}} | | | | |9th| | | | | | | | | |2|17th}} |7th| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |34|3rd}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |33|5th}} | | |||||||||||||0|NC}} Notes External links *ESPN Driver Profile *A Tribute to Elio de Angelis Category:Italian Drivers Category:1958 births Category:1986 deaths Category:1979 Début Drivers Category:Shadow Drivers Category:Team Lotus Drivers Category:Brabham Drivers Category:F1 drivers killed while racing Category:Drivers